Apple’s iMessage and Facetime Down, No Estimate on Fix (updated)

Apple’s iMessage and FaceTime services are down for some users as of 3PM Pacific Standard Time. The two services went down earlier this afternoon and Apple is not reporting when the services will be restored.

FaceTime is Apple’s video calling service that can be used to connect users on iOS mobile devices and Macs running recent versions of OS X. iMessage is Apple’s text, chat and multimedia messaging service that replaces traditional SMS on mobile devices and iChat on Macs.

Outgoing iMessages are not being sent from iOS devices or the OS X Messages application. iMessages sent from iPhones are not defaulting to text messages and are simply stuck in the outgoing queue with the ‘sending’ status bar incomplete in the conversation view. Some messages do seem to be going out after several minutes of waiting, but that is not acceptable to most users, especially those used to using iMessages to hold real-time conversation.

Those placing FaceTime calls are currently being met with a message that reads “Connection Lost”. FaceTime users that are receiving FaceTime calls are not being notified of attempted incoming calls.

Apple is aware of the iMessages and FaceTime disruption and is working on a fix. However, Apple isn’t providing users with any timeline on when the issue will be resolved. Instead, its support status dashboard gives the best guess as ASAP.

Social media channels are full of Apple customers complaining about the iMessages and FaceTime outage. The confusion and frustration are completely understandable considering many iPhone users rely on iMessages to communicate with others much more often than placing voice calls.

The timing of the FaceTime outage is particularly inconvenient for families who often use FaceTime to connect with relatives in different time zones during the weekend. Big time zone gaps make it difficult for families to connect during weekdays because of school, work and sleep conflicts.